Loop Data shows how far Ragan has come this year

By Official Release
August 29, 2008
01:44 PM EDT

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On the strength of five top-10s in the past seven races, David Ragan has become a serious threat for a 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup berth.

Ragan is in 13th, just 12 points behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer. It is a spot few could have predicted for Ragan, who finished last season 23rd in the series standings. The difference between this season and last year's rookie campaign is remarkable. Take a look:

David Ragan

Through 24 Races (2007 vs. 2008)

Year	Avg. Fin.	Avg. Run Pos.	Fastest Laps Run	Pct. Laps / Top 15	Driver Rating	Laps Led

2007	24.8	27.9	43	12.4%	53.9	2
2008	15.9	16.9	97	54.0%	80.3	14

• Complete Results: 2007 | 2008

Two statistics in particular bode well for a Chase berth -- and both pertain to the next two races. One, Ragan has been strongest this season on the 1.5- and 2-mile tracks (this weekend's Pepsi 500 is at Auto Club Speedway, which is 2 miles long). Of his eight best Driver Ratings this season, four have come at 1.5- or 2-mile tracks.

Track / Driver Rating

	'Dega	Daytona	Michigan (2)	M'ville	Lowe's	Chicago	Darlington	Michigan (1)

Driver Rating	114.3	108	106.1	100	99.8	97.6	97.5	93.4

The second promising statistic is his Richmond Driver Rating. Last season at the Richmond cutoff race, Ragan registered a Driver Rating of 90.7 -- his best in 2007.

There's a good chance he'll top that this season. He already has nine races in 2008 where his Driver Rating surpassed 90.7. He has improved on last season's Driver Rating in an incredible 22 of 24 races. Below is the race-by-race breakdown of last year compared to this year:

Driver Rating (2007 vs. 2008)

Track	2007	2008	Difference	Track	2007	2008	Difference

Daytona	52.4	65.6	+13.2	Dover	62.1	82.4	+20.3
Auto Club	66.7	86.2	+19.5	Pocono	45.2	53.9	+8.7
Las Vegas	28.0	83.1	+55.1	Michigan	50.3	93.4	+43.1
Atlanta	35.4	61.1	+25.7	Infineon	49.6	44.5	-5.1
Bristol	44.6	54.0	+9.4	New Hampshire	68.2	52.4	-15.8
Martinsville	69.9	100.0	+30.1	Daytona	69.5	108.0	+38.5
Texas	28.0	83.6	+55.6	Chicagoland	45.1	97.6	+52.5
Phoenix	26.8	73.3	+46.5	Indianapolis	60.7	89.7	+29.0
Talladega	75.1	114.3	+39.2	Pocono	43.2	92.5	+49.3
Richmond	66.3	68.1	+1.8	Watkins Glen	36.2	38.4	+2.2
Darlington	53.8	97.5	+43.7	Michigan	79.0	106.1	+27.1
Lowe's	64.3	99.8	+35.5	Bristol	72.0	80.7	+8.7